Announcements
NAME CHANGE – Social Concerns Committee is changing its name to St. Michael’s
SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God,” as well as our Baptismal covenant to “strive for justice and peace among all peoples, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Next meeting is March 9, following 10 AM Mass. EVERYONE is always welcome. Come join us – new name, new faces, new input.
The Barnabas Group of encouragement for those who have experienced a loss at sometime meets monthly. Next meeting Monday March 10 at 11:30 am, at the Old Pueblo Grill located at 60 North Alvernon Way. Please call Peggy Speese for reservations at least three days prior to the meeting.
Novel Theology will meet on Thursday, March 6th at 6:30 pm at the home of Wyndy Pyre. The selection this month
The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin will be discussed.
Fr. Ireland’s Lenten Bible Study - Join us each Monday evening during Lent for a lively discussion on selections from the Old Testament. The Bible Study will take place in the Parish Center from 6:00 until 7:00 pm. Everyone is welcome and urged to attend.
MASS FOR HEALING AND LAYING ON OF HANDS CONTINUES EVERY WEDNESDAY at 12:10 PM with celebrant the Rev.John Smith. All are welcome. If you know of someone who would like Annointing of the sick and is not able to attend Mass, please contact the Parish office or Fr. Smith and he will come to their home.
MASS FOR CHURCH UNITY CONTINUES EVERY FRIDAY at 12:10 PM with celebrant the Rev. Carey Womble. All are encouraged to attend as we pray for Church Unity.
Upcoming Events
Parish Life is Growing!! When will we see YOU?!
Hopefully we will be able to attend a
spring training baseball game the last week in March ~ after Easter.
In early April, join us for
dinner at Zeman’s (Ethiopian food). We are also planning a
hike in Sabino Canyon. Stay Tuned!
Opportunities for Giving
Stewardship By The Numbers:
It takes $6730 in stewardship tithes per week to fund St. Michael and All Angels presence and ministry. For the five weeks in December with Christmas our stewardship tithing was $8720 per week and in January it was $5200 per week. Where to begin? Figure out how much you live on per month: for example $2000. If you start at 8 percent, then a tithe of $40 per week would be the amount. Adjust accordingly by how much you receive each month. “Give and it will be given to you, pressed down, overflowing.” (Luke 6:38) Thank you for living out your baptism at St. Michaels and for striving to be a good steward of God’s blessing!
IS THIS THE FAST THAT I CHOOSE? ~ Some people don’t get to choose their fast.
We will be assembling food packs for migrants in distress in the desert on April 6. During the remaining days of Lent we will be collecting the supplies (bargains only!! We will supplement later with bulk purchases). Look for the trunk in the back of church. Best items (all in original small packs, individual servings) ~ applesauce or fruit cups, chewy breakfast bars or nutrition bars, small packs of peanut butter/cheese crackers, small packs nut or dried fruits, hard candies, pouch meat or Vienna sausages, or anything else durable, nutritious and familiar.
Recently “No More Deaths” volunteers found the body of 14-year old Josseline of El Salvador, who died abandoned and alone, in remote desert around Arivaca while attempting to reach her mother in California. Please keep her and her family, and those who found her remains, in your prayers.
ST. MICHAEL’S GUATEMALA PROJECT ~ CALL FOR SUMMER TEAMS.Preliminary meeting Saturday, March 8, 10 am – Noon - U of A Arizona Poetry Center - Room 207 – 1508 E. Helen St. Tucson. People interested in joining small teams to visit rural Maya of the CPR –Sierra for 2 ½ to 9 weeks are invited to bring their questions to the March 8 meeting and contact R.N. Sarah Roberts or Coordinator Ila Abernathy. Spanish speakers and health professionals are especially welcome, but the vigorous requirements are for flexibility, reasonably good mental and physical health and respect for indigenous cultures. For more Project/Team detail and photos, please visit
www.cprguatemalaproject.org.
PROJECT STARFISH ~ St. Michael’s Church and School are participating in Food For The Poor’s Project Starfish. We are asking you to give up some indulgence during Lent and contribute the cost of that indulgence. There are envelopes at the end of the pew for your use. These donations will be used for aid to the poor in Central America and the Caribbean. Our goal is to raise $2400.00 to build a house for a family in Haiti. In turn this would be utilizing one of the Millennium Development Goals embraced by our Episcopal Church by helping in a small way to “Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger”.
THERE ARE ENVELOPES AT THE END OF THE PEW FOR YOU TO USE FOR OUR STARFISH PROJECT! YOU TOO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR SOMEONE!
Story of the Starfish
Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore, as he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”
The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.”
“ I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in they will die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
Starfish photo from http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/.
Story adapted from the writing of Loren Eiseley.
The Rev. John Smith, Rector